Here’s an illustration I did for ‘The Snowflake Ball’ , Canada’s glamorous Charity Ball, this years theme being, yep you guessed it- ‘Springtime in Paris’. I was trying to not be too obvious by putting certain famous landmarks in there!

It’s for children’s charities, so I hope it raises them some money in their auction.

Todays book is ‘The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My’. It is by Tove Jansson and published by Sort of Books. It is translated by Sophie Hannah with calligraphy by Peter Blegvad.

As a rule I don’t have a ‘thing’ about the Moomins. But this book is wonderful. It’s the kind of book I would love to do and is one of my absolute favourites.

First the story, it’s a simple tale of Moomintroll going to get some milk for his mother and the adventure he goes on on his journey home. The text is rhyming in a way that carries you through the book and is beautifully hand lettered/illustrated by Blegvad. The book features the usual Jansson characters; Moomintroll, Mymble, Fillyjonk, Hemulen etc.

I particularly like how at the end of each page is a line encouraging the reader to think ahead or turn the page

“..Chased them away like Dust and Mess-

AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED. GO ON, GUESS.”

The design is great, featuring cut throughs from one scene to the next, which add to the depth and the whole idea of looking forward to what is coming next. The illustrations are printed in three or four colours per page, in flat colours, with glimpses through the page adding an additional colour.

The text is usually in a box and so it gets its own chance to shine. The hand lettered text is drawn in a way that some words reflect their meaning, ( a calligram apparently!) and this just adds to the quirkiness of the book.

Now meet the Dunderheads, an unlikely band of children with extraordinary hidden talents, about to teach Miss Breakbone a lesson she won’t forget!”

The writing is great, everything you’d expect from a story titled ‘The Dunderheads’ and more. The characters names are inspired (Spider, Hollywood, Wheels,Spitball-now what could his special talent be I wonder??) and the story works so well, unlikely heros getting their own back. It’s a quirky story, with bite.

The illustrations are fantastic,as always, from Roberts-can you tell I’m a fan? The pages are a mix of double page spreads, singles, and panels dividing the page up. The characterisation is brilliant and beautifully compliments the writing. The illustrations are done in ink line and watercolours.

I was particularly impressed with his characters outfits, and he draws a very nice carpet! The compositions are very strong, oh its just fantastic, check it out! And for those of you who love it, as I’m sure you all will, there’s a sequel..”The Dunderheads Behind Bars”. I won’t say anymore for now, just that it doesn’t disappoint!